Functions of Parliament Flashcards
main functions of Parliament
both the Commons and the Lords perform three main functions…
- passing legislation
- scrutinising the executive
- providing ministers
the House of Commons also represents the electorate
passing legislation: what does this involve? what is the difference between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in terms of this function?
passing legislation is the most important function of Parliament
Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the UK and has the power to pass and amend laws on any subject
The House of Commons has exclusive power to give consent to taxation because as the elected chamber it represents the people, whereas the House of Lords is not allowed to interfere with ‘money bills’ as they are unelected
but the Lords can amend non-financial legislation
passing legislation: who is most legislation initiated by?
most legislation is initiated by the government, there is limited opportunities for backbench and opposition MPs to propose measures of their own
this means that Parliament mainly develops the legislative proposals set forward by the executive
it is rarely able to defeat or hugely change legislation but when it does it needs solid opposition from numerous parties as well as rebels on the government’s side
for example in 2016 Cameron’s plans to extend Sunday trading was defeated when Labour, SNP and Tory rebels joined forces
passing legislation: what is the purpose of the whip?
The opposition constantly confronts and challenges the government on legislation — Adversarial
The party whips are responsible for ensuring MPs attend Parliamentary votes (divisions) and they issue MPs written instructions to attend known as a whip which shows the importance of being present
the Most important divisions to attend are underlined three times, hence the name three line whip
Those who obey the whip are often rewarded for their loyalty with promotions — government whips may offer the prospect of ministerial posts while imposing sanctions on those who do not obey the whip
Persistent rebels may have the whip withdrawn, being effectively suspended from the party and having to sit as an independent — This can also happen in the case of misconduct e.g. where it is felt an MP has damaged the party’s reputation
Smaller teams of whips operate in the Lords and do not have as much power
passing legislation: how can governments push through legislation?
Governments can use the argument of overriding necessity to push through legislation
For example, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 which introduced control orders for suspected terrorists completed all the stages of the legislative process in just 18 days
passing legislation: in what ways are bills sometimes poorly drafted?
A small number of bills are so poorly drafted that they are virtually unworkable
for example the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 prohibited certain breeds of dogs but critics argued it should’ve targeted irresponsible owners instead
The act was ineffective because in the dog attacks that spurred on the act, 21 out of 30 deaths involved breeds not specified in the act
It was a knee-jerk response to a series of tabloid stories on recent dog attacks
scrutinising the executive: what must Parliament do?
Parliament must scrutinise the government by holding it to account and exposing its errors
Ministers have to explain and justify their actions to Parliament
Scrutiny happens through questions to ministers, select committees and debates
scrutinising the executive: where do most ministers from the executive come from?
most ministers sit in the House of Commons
Theresa May‘s first cabinet in 2016 only had one member of the House of Lords (Baroness Evans)
But most government departments are represented in the House of Lords by a junior minister who oversees the passage of business through the upper house
scrutinising the executive: what are questions to ministers?
One way that scrutiny of the executive may take place in parliament is through questions to ministers
May call for oral or written answers
PMQs are a weekly question and answer time in the House of Commons, a chance to hold the government to account and force them to explain their actions and policy decisions
Although they are often criticised for being inappropriately theatrical, a point scoring exercise dominated by the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition as well as not achieving effective scrutiny
scrutinising the executive: what are select committees?
select committees consist of backbench MPs and the composition of select committees reflect that of the House of Commons
Select committees investigate and report on activities of particular government departments while their counterparts in the House of Lords (such as the Constitution Committee) carry out topic-based inquiries
scrutinising the executive: what are debates?
Debates also mean that Parliament can scrutinise the government’s actions
For example, in 2013 the House of Commons debated and defeated the Cameron government’s proposal to take military action in Syria
The backbench business committee was set up in 2010 and allows MPs to choose the topic for debate one day per week (allows them to shape the agenda and force discussion on certain topics, particularly topics that the government may have been trying to avoid)
Debates in the House of Lords are much more professional and of higher quality as they are experts in a wide variety of fields, but these debates rarely influence the course of events
providing ministers: where are ministers recruited from?
Ministers must sit in one of the two houses, Parliament therefore acts as a recruiting ground for future ministers
For example, the whips make recommendations to the Prime Minister for suitable candidates for promotion
The Prime Minister possesses wide powers of patronage
Sometimes a person who is not an MP may be given a peerage to sit in the House of Lords so they can become a minister — For example Gordon Brown appointed Peter Mandelson to the House of Lords so he could serve as his business secretary following the 2008 financial crisis
representing the electorate: why is this a function only for the House of Commons?
representing the electorate is a function of Parliament that is fulfilled by the House of Commons only
The House of Commons is elected so has a representative function
The House of Lords is representative only in the sense that it contains people with a wide range of professional backgrounds, but most of its members are over 70, 75% are male and only around 5% are ethnic minorities
representing the electorate: what is the House of Commons made up of?
Due to FPTP, the House of Commons is usually dominated by a single party but this is not the case in the House of Lords
There are 650 MPs and each represent a constituency
they are not made delegates taking instructions but they must use their own judgement instead
There is a strong link between MPs and their constituencies due to FPTP
representing the electorate: what are MPs expected to do?
MPs are expected to respond to issues raised by their constituents and stand up for local interests in the House of Commons
For example a number of MPs who voted against plans for the high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham represented constituencies that would be impacted by the planned route
For example in 2006 Hazel Blears a member of Blair’s cabinet supported protests against a planned closure of a part of a hospital in her Salford constituency
